‘Obscured In Shadows’ throws its head back in a magisterial and mighty howl from the start, ascending and descending riff patterns, a definite early ‘00s DARKTHRONE vibe to both the tempo and Feral Spirit’s (henceforth F.S.) vocal proclamations not unlike Fenriz of the aforementioned, who shan’t be again, because there’s at once something fresh about what WULDORGAST is bringing this early on in Cold Light.
Neither blanching at the idea of stretching a song to just under the breaking point as in the opener, nor averse to the “get in, do damage, get out” aesthetic, ‘Natural Life Is Eternal Battle’ invokes the battle-ready berserk of SAMMATH, the sometime swagger of CARPATHIAN FOREST. The same focus remains on ‘Cold Light Of Reason’, the drum destruction of Sceadugenga notable for its ability to shift, Lombardo-like, from rolling thunder to goat’s sphincter-tight, snappy (don’t call it a) groove and back again in the brief space given.
‘Labyrinth Of Control’ injects a fierce sense of melody and memorability, yet remains sharp, honed. If the section from 2:42-3:53 doesn’t rival anything coming out of Scandinavia for the past 5 years when it comes to this breed of blackness, I’ll eat my bullet belt. Taken down in ferocity for a moment, ‘Cipher To Eternity’ soon enough rips the scab off, and reminds us at times of the often-ignored debt black metal owes to the thrash/speed bands of the ‘80s, a bit of EXODUS and KREATOR found in the riffwork.
‘Dawn Of The Black Sun’ closes, bristling, burly, yet not wearing its primitivism as a mask, or waving it as some badge of legitimacy, so much an inherent part it is of what makes this album as a whole work on display. Honoring the past and embracing, yet mesmeric and gazing forward with one eye. Behold the Cold Light of WULDORGAST.
Review By: Lord Randall
WULDORGAST
Cold Light
Iron Bonehead Productions